Bottle opener



March 16, 1965 N. BORK 3,173,316

BOTTLE OPENER Filed Nov. 15, 1961 HIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,173,316 BOTTLE GPENER Niels Bork, 234 Jackson St, Evans City, Pa. Filed Nov. 15, 1961, Ser. No. 152,607 1 (Ilaim. (Cl. 81-3.46)

This application relates to a bottle opener and, more particularly, a bottle opener designed to remove metal caps which are crimped over bottles of carbonated beverages. More specifically, my bottle opener has an outward appearance generally similar to an old-fashioned wooden block plane and has inner structural differences from such a block plane which make it effective for opening bottles. It is a novelty item which manufacturers and distributors of carbonated beverages may pass out to customers and potential customers as an advertising device to promote the sales of their carbonated beverages.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated certain presently preferred embodiments of my invention, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of my bottle opener;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the bottle opener; and

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal section along the lines III--IlI of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings, my bottle opener comprises a generally rectangularly shaped wooden block 4 having outwardly curved sides 5 and 6 curved slightly outwardly and a front end 7 and a rear end 8 which are parallel to each other. The block also has a top side 9 and a bottom side 10. The top edges of the front and rear ends of the block and of the sides of the block may be beveled, as shown in the drawings, for the sake of appearance.

A central opening 11 extends through the block from the top side 9 to the bottom side 14? and is spaced equidistantly from the sides 5 and 6 of the block.

A side 12 of the opening 11, which side is nearest the end 8 of the block, lies in a plane forming an acute angle with the top side 9. A metal blade 13 simulating the cutting blade of a block plane lies parallel to and against the side 12 and, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, extends outwardly beyond the top side 9 of the block at one end and down through the opening 11 to a position adjacent to the bottom side 19 of the block but within the opening 11.

Projections 14 and 15 extend inwardly from the sides of the opening 11 which are adjacent the sides 5 and 6 of the block and lie in planes generally at right angles to the blade 13. These projections have their widest portion in the plane of the top side 9 of the block and slope inwardly towards the sides of the opening 11 merging with the sides along a line 16 which is approximately midway between the top side 9 and the bottom side it? of the block.

The projections 14 and 15 have ends 140 and 15a, respectively, which face the blade 13 and slope towards the blade. A flat wedge 17 of decreasing thickness extends across the blade 13 and into the opening 11 and is wedged between the blade 13 and the sloping ends 14a and 15a of the projections 14 and 15. The Wedge, when driven between the ends 14a and 15a of the projections and the blade 13, holds the blade in the position shown in FIGURE 3.

The side of the opening 11 opposite to the blade 13 and lying in a plane generally parallel to the blade 13 has a portion which slopes from the top side 9 of the block towards the blade 13 to a line extending parallel to and between the top side 9 and thebotttom side of the block 4 and away from the blade. From said line, the side of the opening 11 opposite to the blade 13 has a portion 19 which slopes away from said blade and extends from said line to the bottom side iii of the block.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the manner of operation of my bottle opener. A bottle 20 having a crimped metal cap 21 is placed with the cap 21 against the side portion 19 of the opening 11 and with the edge of the cap overhanging the end of the blade 13 as shown in FIGURE 3. The bottle 20 is grasped in one hand and the opener is grasped in the other hand and (viewing FIGURE 3) the bottle is rotated clockwise and the opener is rotated counterclockwise, which action brings the edge of the metal cap 21 against the end of the blade 13 whereupon continued rotation of the bottle and of the opener as just described lift the metal cap from the bottle. Either the bottle or the opener can be held stationary while the other is rotated in the proper direction toremove the cap.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have invented an effective bottle opener which is novel in appearance, which makes a good conversation piece, and which, therefore, will assist manufacturers and distributors of carbonated beverages in promoting the sales of their beverages.

While I have illustrated a certain presently preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An opener for bottles having crirnped metal caps comprising (A) a generally rectangular block, said block having fiat top and bottom sides, front and rear ends and sides connecting the ends and the top and bottom sides,

(B) a central opening in said block,

(1) said opening extending between the top side and the bottom side of said block and being spaced inwardly from the sides,

(2) a side of said opening nearest the rear end of said block sloping toward the front of the block from the top to the bottom of the block and lying in a plane extending at right angles to the two sides of the block,

(C) a hat metal blade lying parallel to and against said side of said opening,

(1) said blade extending from a point outside of the top side to a point adjacent to the bottom side,

(D) means for holding said blade within said opening,

said means comprising projections extending inwardly from the sides of said central opening and having ends which extend at least partially through said opening, said ends facing but being spaced from said blade, and a wedge extending across the blade and between said projections and said blade and (E) a side of said central opening opposite to the blade having a portion which intersects the bottom of the block along a line spaced forwardly from the blade and which slopes upwardly toward the blade to a line within the central opening spaced from the blade whereby a bottle to be opened can be positioned against the blade with a part of the lower edge of the cap overhanging the lower end of the blade and with the top surface of the cap against said sloping side portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 310,163 Achenbach Jan. 6, 1885 1,582,442 \Vhite Apr. 27, 1926 1,628,715 Enlder et al. May 17, 1927 2,565,775 Mendenhall Aug. 28, 1951 2,608,889 Krupin Sept. 2, 1952 

